IN FOCUS

On March 9, along with about a dozen or so presenters, I made my debut at PechaKucha Night in Winnipeg. PechaKucha Night was devised in Tokyo in 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network and to show their work in public. But the concept has since turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the world, inspiring creatives worldwide. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of conversation (“chit chat”), it rests on a presentation format based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds – keeping presentations concise and moving at a rapid and entertaining pace.

In Winnipeg, the PechaKucha event is hosted by the Manitoba Chapter of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC). My presentation 'Water For Life' came about as I discovered that the month of March had been proclaimed as 'World Water Month' and March 22 as 'World Water Day'. I decided to focus on the topic of water to make us reflect about its importance to us. Of interest locally, CBC Television’s ‘The Nature of Things’ premiered a documentary on March 17 called ‘Save My Lake’ about the water quality deterioration of our own Lake Winnipeg. It airs again on Sunday, April 3 at 7 PM.